Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

[MsElayne]

I have a 20' 1988 Starcraft Pontoon...i pulled it out of the lake today due to the back of it is sitting constantly way to low in the water...all of the pontoon tubes in the back are under water except for about 2 inches....when looking at it today..i thought "maybe its leaking and taking water in the tubes" however i can't figure out how to get those little drain plugs opened at the main bottom on the ends and my tubes when i opened the top plugs on the tubes they had air in them....is this normal...I did not think the tubes were suppose to have any air in them at all that would be pressurized....can't seem to find a local starcraft dealer to consult....could anyone help with this question???????

 

[Splat]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

The small relief of air is caused by thermodynamics. That is when they were assembled and plugged at the factory the temperature was prolly less than it is now. On a day like today with *) plus degrees the air expands creating some pressure. Do not attempt to pressurize the toons! Very little pressure, Like around 4-10psi if I remember correctly is all they can handle, and will explode if pushed past they. They are not designed to be a pressure vessel.

What is making the plug hard to come out? is it stuck? weird head on the bolt you don't recognize? You said you got the top plug out, can you look in with a flashlight and see or hear water in it? is water dripping out while the boat is trailered?

Bill

 

[5150abf]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

If it is on a trailer you can have someone drive a coupe feet then stop suddenly then listen for water to slosh.

As Splat said, some air is normal, working on baots in the winter some even have quite alot of vacuum on them.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

You didn't mention if this is a new propblem, a growing problem, or one that you have had for a very long time.

Major difference between DISPLACEMENT hulls and PLANING hulls.

A pontoon is essentially a floating dock.

Pontoons can be sensitive to weight distribution, especially those with hardtops or overheard 'sun' decks, as much more weight is generally located rearwards on the craft. Convention dictates that people generally like an open foredeck and a covered rear deck, when balance is actually much better with the 'lid' more centered on the craft.

Pontoons float by displacing the total weight of water equal to the total weight of the craft.

Conventional boats displace at rest and idle speeds, increasing speeds cause the conventional boat to 'plane', i.e., 'fly' on top of the water.

 

[rrhodes]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

To good news is that if you heard air escape then you more than likely do not have a leak....

 

[MsElayne]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

well the plugs or whatever they are on top of the toons have what i am calling plugs that turn like big screws and that is when removed where the air came from....there is more weight towards the back than the front but its always been that way and with no one sitting on the boat the front sits up almost out of water and the back of the toons are almost underwater....their is no levelness.....on each of the back of the toons at the main bottom on the end are round circles that we are thinking are valves or plugs that you can remove to let out water if any gets in or condensation and so forth sits up.....last year when we had it in the water it DID NOT set this way....it set a little lower in the back than the front....but nothing more than any other toon you see sittin on a lake....we have a 50 HP Mercury motor on it and that is the same as last year.....the only thing different from last year is we moved lakes and unfortunately it does not have a covered slip for it to go on so it is more out in the weather...but nothing seems to be staying wet....but it is an older 88 model in which it was built with more weight in the back than in the front by looking the weight is obviously not distributed well...but it orginally did not sit like this in the water....thanks for everyones help and comments...

 

[jessp]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

I had pretty much same thing. Pulled rear bottom plugs and lots of water. Sounds like you have to get those plugs out, otherwise you may never know unless you did as was implied in other posts. Did pressure test and found problems. Trying it again this weekend for a few hours to see how the handy work turned out. Retested and was okay.

 

[MsElayne]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

but how did you get the bottom plugs out? they look like tiny holes...you can tell they have threads up in the holes..but nothing seems to fit and we can't see anything in the hole to know exactly what kinda driver or hex it is.....so how did you get the plugs out of the end bottom of the toons

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

Some toon logs with the upper 'vent' plugs do not have drain holes.

Each vent plug is to a separate compartment designed this way to prevent submerging the deck in case of a puncture of one section of the log.

I've seen stress cause a crack alongside a weld, rain leaking into a compartment until the craft sat low enough for the owner to take notice.

As previously stated, with the craft on the trailer, rock the boat listen carefully for any sloshing sound from the log. Repeat test at rear, middle and front on both sides.

With no drains you either try to siphon the water out with a hose through the vent or resort to drilling a small 1/4 inch hole in the bottom rear of the log chamber to drain, then have a certified welder reweld the hole.Very carefully inspect ALL welds for any stress cracks, use a small pocket mirror to see the topside of the log on the inside of the welds.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

My older toon is an '88 (although not the same brand) and I had water in one tube. I enlarged a top hole slightly and used a regular plug to seal it after. Mine has separate compartments but water would drain slowly to the rear if the boat was raised at the bow. I used a copper tube attached to a short piece of garden hose onto a small 12v pump I picked up at a local hardware supply. If you have water in the pontoon, this is an effective way to get it out without creating a hole below the water line.

 

[divinginn]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

I just drained a 100 gals or so of water out of mine,it had drain plugs on it. I had noticed that it was sitting lower on the starboard side. Now I have to see if I have a leak in it.

 

[bruuuuce]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

can you post a picture of the spot your talking about, they may help.

 

[actionpaintball]

Re: Pontoon back sits way to low in the water?????

I just drained a 100 gals or so of water out of mine,it had drain plugs on it. I had noticed that it was sitting lower on the starboard side. Now I have to see if I have a leak in it.

You have a leak...